The children's gift on World Aids Day
Australian school children have recreated ife-depending HIV drug Daraprim priced at £594 for just £1.60 a dose.
This must come as a slap in the face to pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli who last year caused outrage when he suddenly increased the cost of Daraprim by 5,000%. Obviously, his devastating decision rested in the fact that Daraprim is on the World Health Organisation's list of essential medicines. It is used to treat both malaria and HIV.
With 36 million people affected worldwide by HIV alone, once can only imagine what the sudden 5,000% must have meant for Shkreli: £594 per person per month. Needless to say Shkreli became a most hated figure worldwide.
What the young students from University of Sydney illustrate is how little the drug costs to make. One of the research chemists helping the schoolchildren, Alice Williamson, said the students shared the "outrage of the general public" by Shkreli’s action.
Meanwhile, Shkreli stands accused of fraud. Since his arrest last December, his stock-trading account, which was worth $45m, has plummeted in value to $5m.
Youmanity hopes that this important milestone makes a point about the nature of the pharmaceutical industry.